Pai Gow is an ancient Chinese game which name translates into "making nines." The game is played using a set of 32 playing tiles resembling dominos. FIG. 1 illustrates the set of 32 tiles having red (shown as black in FIG. 1) and white dots used for playing the game showing certain combinations in order of ranking as is well known in the play of Pai Gow. As stated previously, the play of the game of Pai Gow is well known and is played in numerous casinos around the world as a wagering, casino game.
Basically to play the game, players make a wager before the start of a hand. A dealer shuffles or mixes the set of tiles and makes eight stacks of four tiles each. Dice are rolled to determine who gets the first stack of tiles. The tiles are then distributed in order to each player and the dealer. The players look at their four tiles and arrange them into two hands, a high and a low hand, of two tiles each. The low hand is to have a lower Pai Gow ranking than the high hand according to the ranking of hands of Pai Gow which is well known. After the players have arranged their hands, they place the two tile low hand in front of the two tile high hand, with the tiles face down, in front of them. The dealer then turns over his/her four tiles and arranges them in a high and low hand like the players according to the ranking of hands of Pai Gow. Each player's hands are then resolved in turn against the dealer's. If both of the player's high and low hands outrank the dealer's high and low hands, the player wins their wager and is paid even money. Most casinos exact a commission of typically five percent (5%) on winning hands. If one, but not both, of the player's hands outrank the dealer's hands, the hand is considered a tie or push and the player neither loses nor wins their wager. If the dealer's hands outrank both of the player's hands, that is deemed to be a losing outcome and the player loses their wager.
In Pai Gow, a player, should they so desire, can declare themselves the banker whereby that player plays against all of the other players and the dealer in a like manner.
One of the drawbacks of Pai Gow is that a player can have two extremely high ranking low and high hands and still end up with a push if one of the dealer's hands outranks one of the players. This can be frustrating as a player who may only rarely see such a combination of hands.
A further drawback is that a player cannot expect to receive a large reward several times their initial wager. For a player to win a large amount they must risk a large amount. Pai Gow does not provide any mechanism to offer high rewards to players with a relatively small amount of risk.
Still a further drawback is that many players are unfamiliar with the game of Pai Gow and hence refrain from playing the game. Knowledge of the game and skill is required to arrange the hands. If a hand is improperly arranged such that the high hand does not outrank the low hand, the play is deemed a loss for the player. This unfamiliarity with the game has often relegated the play of the game to those having an intimate knowledge of the game.
There is therefore a need for an improved Pai Gow game which overcomes the drawbacks noted above by providing opportunities to reap greater rewards, by rewarding players who obtain certain combinations regardless of the ultimate outcome of the hand and which provides for wagering opportunities even to those unfamiliar with the play of the game and the ranking of Pai Gow hands.